Start of Something New
by theshippingmechanic
Summary: Highschool AU. Percabeth, Caleo, Jasper, Solangelo. Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Calypso. My first attempt at writing something that the public sees. Call it a prototype. I own nothing, all rights and credits go to the author Rick Riordan, etc.,etc. Reviews are very welcome!
1. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I Introduce…

Chapter One: Ladies and Gentlemen, may I Introduce…

Annabeth

It was my first day walking into school, and already it was a bad day. Some jerk driving an old red car had nearly hit me and four other people on the way over to school. I was also nervous, so that put my nerves on edge. To top it off, my dad and I had just had the argument to end all others right before I left.

All in all, my first day of school was kind of sucking.

As I walked down the main hallway, I noticed people whispering and kind-of-but-not-really staring at me. Serves me right for coming to a new school in a tiny town. Cincinnati is much smaller than the Big Apple. I didn't like how laid-back it seemed. Sorry, I'm rambling. Anyway, while I'm walking down the hallway I notice a short guy wearing black slacks, suspenders, and a white button down. Did I mention he was flipping a wrench in his left hand? 'Cause, yeah, he was doing that. In front of him was a girl with beautiful dark hair and a tanned complexion, who was wearing a minidress that somehow was both appropriate and sexy. They were obviously dating, the way their body language reacted to one another.

"Excuse me, do you know where room 3116 is?" I asked. The guy turned to me and I got a full appreciation of his dark eyes and cunning elf-like face. He gave me a grin and said, "Yeah, down the stairs on your left."

I was about to thank him when the girl smacked his shoulder. "Leo you jerk." She turned to me and said, "It's right here in front of us. Are you new?"

I swallowed my fears and possibly some of my teeth. "Just moved a week ago from New York."

The girl smiled. "I used to visit my aunts every other weekend there. I'm Calypso, by the way. This is Leo."

"Annabeth."I shook both of their hands (Leo actually held out his wrench instead). I took the moment to look them both over in detail. Leo had curly hair and something about him that made me mentally remind myself to check any food he might give me. He wore an old medical satchel that had his textbooks, tools and a couple of books on mechanics.

Calypso was something else. She was tanned from the sun and naturally very pretty, and her dark brown hair fell in cascading sheets that made me jealous of my thirty-second ponytail. Her eyes suggested a lifetime of knowledge. I don't know. Maybe I've been watching too much Doctor Who.

From behind me I heard "Nico, go long!" and the blur of a football whipped past my turning face, into the stomach of a black- tshirted teen. A ridiculously fit and blonde boy jogged up. "Nice catch man!"

Black shirt shook out his hand, which I noticed had a skull ring on it. "Two more seconds of warning and I wouldn't have a bruise. C'mon dude, you know Will is going to freak about it and go all 'Doctor, Doctor' on me."

The taller boy clapped one hand to Nico's back and another to his own head, "Oh crap man, I'm sorry, I totally forgot about that since your… Well, you know."

I turned back to Leo and Calypso. "What was that all about?"

It was Leo who answered, "Which part? The football part or the thing about Will? Oh, crapola, that's right, you don't know Will. Dang. Alright blondie we need to get you accustomed to-"

Calypso cut him off, "We _need_ to get to homeroom. The bell's about to ring." I nodded in agreement, just as the bell did ring.


	2. Green v Gray

Chapter Two: Green v. Gray

Percy

It was indeed a beautiful morning for school to ruin. I drove to school in my Jeep with the top down and doors off, as is my custom for anything new I do. It's a tradition I started about thirty minutes ago when I couldn't find the doors to the Jeep. Anyway, the morning was great besides the highway, where I saw Leo's scarlet 1968 Impala Fastback careening all over the road. The man simply cannot control his car. He claims it's the bad combination of gremlins, poltergeists, no power steering, and Calypso's distractions.

I went straight from my car to homeroom, skipping my locker (because let's be honest, who needs to go to their locker on the first day of school?), and just generally trying to avoid any possible situations where I encountered Rachel. She's my ex, and to put it simply, she did not handle the change elegantly. It was like a zombie movie where the person's face molts into this rotting, death mask that wants your brains. Okay, I'm dramatizing it. But still. It sucked.

I walked past Leo and Calypso. They got together over the summer, _finally_. My friends and I had been trying since they first met in eighth grade. Three years' work paid off with them kissing under the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Then we threw them in a lake.

It was a good day that day. Today, however, they were talking to a girl with a blonde ponytail that I didn't recognize. I walked into the classroom and greeted Paul Blofis, my Homeroom and English teacher and stepdad. I'd say we're pretty good friends. He supports my swimming competiveness and usually has me act out scenes of Shakespeare at home to give me some advantage for English. We didn't know he was going to be my teacher, so it worked out fine.

The bell rang, with Leo, Calypso and the new girl walking in to take the remaining seats near me. I said to the curly devil next to me in the front row, "Leo, my man, you gotta stop driving that Impala. Either you or someone else is gonna die from it."

"Just trust me. The worm gear just needs some lubrication, that's all. Besides I just put a new manifold with dual quad carburetors and I'm considering…"

When Leo starts talking about cars, killing him is the only logical solution to get him to shut up. Either that or ask Calypso to get him to be quiet. Fortunately, she could already see the oncoming problem and grabbed his mouth with her hand from behind. He got the message.

I looked at the blonde girl next to me. She had opened a book on what looked like math and buildings, but was watching the interaction with amusement. Blonde returned to her book. I asked, "What'cha reading?"

She glanced at me, expression somewhat guarded. "Ancient architecture." Her eyes were a beautiful stormy gray. I'd never thought of gray as beautiful. Not that I thought her eyes were beautiful. Just the general color. You know.

Unfortunately, the brain-to-mouth sensitivity filter hadn't yet been activated this morning. "Yeesh. Math and history together. Boring. "

Without looking up, she replied coldly, "Ancient structures will stand longer than you ever will."

"Well you know what-"

Calypso intervened. "Alright now. Percy, this is Annabeth. She just moved here from NY. Annabeth, Percy. Play nice."

"Fine" I said, shooting Annabeth an annoyed glare.

"Fine" was her response with the same glare.


	3. All's fair in Love and War

Chapter Three: All's fair in Love and War

Annabeth

God this kid was annoying. All I wanted to do was to be left peacefully with my Ancient Greek and Roman Architecture book. I liked Leo and Calypso, but I wanted to focus on my reading until there was something to pay attention to.

Fortunately, I didn't have to avoid Percy's lingering gaze much longer. The teacher stood up from behind his desk and cleared his throat. "Good morning and welcome to the first day of your senior year. I am Mr. Blofis, and yes, to those of you who have heard from older students, I will respond to 'Mr. Blowfish'. I am your homeroom teacher as well as some of your English teacher. Rules are pretty basic. Shut up during announcements and don't punch anyone without a good reason."

He began to sit down until he seemed to remember something. "Oh, sorry, I almost forgot. I would like to introduce a new student to our curriculum, Annabeth Chase. Ms. Chase, would you please stand up?"

I think I swallowed my tongue. Did he just… yep. I hesitantly got out of my seat and stood before the class, feeling like it was execution time during the French Revolution. "H-Hi."

I turned to look at Mr. Blofis. He nodded at me for encouragement. "You'll need a guide for the day. Mr. Jackson," Percy's head snapped to attention. "May I see your schedule?"

"I… Uh… I left it at home. But there's a copy in here somewhere." Green Eyes added hurriedly, referring to his backpack.

"Please find it," Mr. Blofis asked/ordered. Percy nodded.

 _Oh no, please don't do what I think you're about to do_ I thought to myself. "Miss Chase, your schedule if you don't mind."

I walked to my bag and retrieved the paper that would guide me for a year.

Annabeth Chase- HR (Blofis), History (Brunner), AP Calc 2 (Alexandria), Art (Stark), Free period, Lunch, Italian (Dino), Biology (Dr Jacobs), English (Blofis)

Perseus Jackson- HR (Blofis), History (Brunner), English (Blofis), Art (Stark), Geo/Trig (Dodds), Italian (Dino), Biology (Dr Jacobs), Auto Tech (Cline)

Mr. Blofis took mine and Percy's copy paper and compared the two, while the two of us looked on.

"Perseus?" I muttered to Percy under my breath.

"Don't even think about it," He said without moving his lips.

Mr. Blofis relaxed. "Mr. Jackson, starting in one minute with next bell, you shall be Miss Chase's guide around school, as you both share enough classes."

Some in the class wolf-whistled, while I groaned internally. I had to spend time with this prick?

The bell rang. Percy shot me another annoyed look (Which I dutifully returned) and grabbed his backpack. "C'mon. Off to history with us."

Oh joy.

Thankfully I was able to stay silent for most of our time spent together, a combination of ignoring each other and just annoyed silence. He sometimes made little jabs about the books I read and my art, which is geometrical. I told you, I like architecture. I got him back during Italian when I cussed him out in Italian (which he doesn't get). Unfortunately, I was caught and Ms. Dino was both impressed and angry with the amount of cusswords I knew and how fluently I used the grammar. I avoided detention, but only by agreeing to write out a short autobiography.

English was by far the best class. Mr. Blofis made things entertaining by acting out a scene of Macbeth with a wooden dummy and dull sword. He assigned an estimated half hour of homework, and dismissed us five minutes early. I liked him even more for that. I was kind of late packing up, so he came over and leaned on a chair near me, "How was your first day Miss Chase?"

I paused in my action, and pondered the question for a minute. "Honestly Mr. Blofis, it could have gone a lot worse. I just wish that Jackson kid would stop acting like… Well, whatever he's acting like."

Mr. Blofis surprised me. "Percy's a little hardheaded but I think you two will make something of a friendship."

I wondered briefly if Mr. Blofis was insane. Percy with his incredibly green eyes and I would never be friends. Logic is my thing and that was more than illogical.

He surprised me again by laughing. "Annabeth, I can practically hear the gears in your head clicking. Just give it time."

I nodded. "Ok Mr. Blofis. See you tomorrow," I slung on my backpack and walked out towards the main entrance to the parking lot. It was mostly deserted, save for my Mini Cooper, a jet-black Jeep and… No way, that crazy red car from the highway this morning? Inside the car was a girl, outside underneath the hood was a familiar short, curly haired kid and another with adorably tousled raven hair. I walked closer and I recognized Leo's voice saying, "Man, it's a '68 Impala with a 327 engine, it already had _style_ , what it needed was _power_!"

And unfortunately, I also recognized the other voice... Percy. "You sacrificed your fuel economy for more power? With your rear differential as it is, you still won't be able to go faster than 120 MPH."

Leo shook his head. "I'll show you what she can do. Friday. The usual place. Right now, I've got a date," He got into the car while Percy shut the hood. The engine revved and the car left tire tracks on the parking lot.

I was just unlocking my car when Percy said, "Hey, I think you left your lights on all day." And I froze. He was right. I'd forgotten about them this morning when I'd gotten out. I cussed in Italian. Vehemently.

"I think I recognize that one from earlier," I turned to see Oh-So-Green-Eyed-Perseus-Jackson giving me a slight smirk. "Yeah? Well I've got a lot more to use for you." I retorted angrily.

"Whoah, I'm kidding around. You're stuck here without a ride, and me being the gentleman I am, I'll give you one home."

"I wasn't planning on going home yet." Which was true. I'd wanted to stay out of the house long enough for my dad to cool off. Maybe go to a coffee shop. I dunno.

He shrugged. "Fine by me. Where do you want to go?"

I shocked myself with an entirely honest answer. "Somewhere that I can scream and have a minor mental breakdown without anyone hearing."

He gave me a serious and appraising look. "As it happens….. I know just the place."


	4. If a Tree Falls in the Forest…

Percy

I hadn't really intended to help her. I'd been hoping to leave her stranded for tomorrow. But something my dad had once said echoed back to me across the years telling me _"Percy, someone in need is someone you can help."_

Funny, because Dad didn't choose to get help with his own problems. And look where he ended up.

And here we both were, in my jeep flying down a highway listening to Shotgun Rider at an insane volume. Her face was turned away from me, meaning I got a fantastic view of her long blonde hair. It was so distracting I mentally threw it out of my head so we didn't flip. I turned off the highway onto a long paved road, which then turned to dirt after a few miles. I saw the place nearing us. "Hang on!" I called to Chase. She turned to face me and said "Hang on for-" but was cut off by my engaging the four wheel drive and jumping a stream with a hard left.

I laughed like it was my first time doing it again and threw the gearshift into third, then fourth. We must've been doing seventy over the field, hitting rocks and tearing the dirt up. I glanced over and saw Annabeth looking sick. Easing up on the accelerator, I put in the clutch and brake to stop the car, then turned the key. "You alrigh-"

Chase decked me so hard in my shoulder I was pretty sure the bruise would never go away. She was breathing really hard and between breaths, she enunciated "Jackson, if you _ever_ do that again I swear to everything you love I _will_ kill you _._ "

I laughed, rubbing my arm. "So you're saying there'll be a next time?" And she gave me a glare that made me appreciate the phrase 'If looks could kill' in a new way.

I shrugged, albeit painfully. "We're here anyway. Go crazy, Chase."

She took her first actual look around. It was a field about ten miles away from the city that was entirely unused, although for some reason the grass wouldn't grow past a foot. Jason, Leo, and I discovered it when we were out driving our cars for test rides (we were all just licensed then). We think and hope that we're the only ones who know about it, because we all refer to it as 'the place' or 'the shop' when we talk to our parents. We have fixed many things out here, although it's mostly Leo's Impala with duct tape.

What I like best isn't the dirt track we built or the hills that are great for four wheeling, is the sunset that you can view at just the right angle from a certain spot in a car. Actually, I think… Yeah, I'd parked the Jeep in the exact spot.

I unbuckled my seatbelt. "C'mon Chase, you've got a mental breakdown to attend."

And she did. Two seconds after she fell into the grass she started cussing in a way that would have made the guys who did _The King's Speech_ respect her. I caught something about her dad and Italian stuff in there. Annabeth also kind of did this punch/ kickbox thing which ended with her spinning around punching and kicking for ten minutes until she fell down.

I watched calmly while leaning against the jeep. This of course, has happened before. Mostly by Nico, who was freaking out about his identity and how people, specifically his parents, would deal with it.

I let Annabeth lay in the grass for a couple of minutes until I decided she was a little cooler. Her hair was splayed all over the flattened grass and dang, in the setting sun it looked great. I'm totally allowed to think that, it's just a color. I offered a hand. "Chase, you're going to miss the sunset"

"Why should I care about some stupid sunset anyway?"

"Because if you miss this one, I'll never tell you how to see another one from here."

Annabeth leaned up on an elbow and took my hand. "Fine" and I pulled her up.

The sunset had never disappointed me, and today it didn't either. I took Annabeth by the shoulder in what I hoped was a semi- friendly way to stand with me by the jeep. The sun cast a light pink and purple tinge to the clouds, and a glow to Annabeth's face, turning her already blonde hair to pure gold.

"My God," she said quietly.

"Not much like New York, huh?"

"Nothing at all…"

I turned my head left to see her looking at me. "This is the part in the movie where the guy kisses the girl," she said.

"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

She laughed, and to my great delight, it was high and sweet and almost as nice as the sunset. "I'm kidding. You must have a lot of kelp in your head to think I'd ever like you," But she said it in a kind way.

I was particularly indignant. "Excuse you, our pool is chlorinated. Any plant life would immediately die if it-"

She rested her head against my unbruised shoulder. "Shut up Seaweed Brain."

And for once, I did.


	5. Home, not so sweet Home

Chapter Five: Home, not so sweet Home

Annabeth

I had to admit to myself that I liked being on Percy's shoulder. It was really comfortable, and as a bonus he smelled wonderful. A combination of Old Spice, cedar, and a hint of engine oil. I mean, I'm sure lots of girls liked him for this and I was pretty certain he had a girlfriend. Most of the girls had been staring at him during our classes, those that weren't listening to the lectures. I guess he was cute. Must've been the reason girls liked him.

As the sun set the cold set in and Percy tugged on my shirtsleeve. "Chase it'll be really cold in the Jeep without doors, I think we should get you home now."

I blinked a couple of times, pulling myself out of my thoughts. "Ok."

He climbed into the driver's side started the car. I clambered in shotgun, making certain to have my seatbelt on correctly. Percy turned his headlights on and shoved the car into gear, accelerating so my head almost snapped off. Before I knew it he shouted, "Ready?"

I made a noise that got caught in my throat that he took as a yes and jumped the stream with a hard right. Percy yelled, "Woooooooo!" into the wind and I had to smile at the dork. Which he didn't see. Because we are not friends. Nope. "Just get me to the main highway and I'll give you directions from there." I shouted to him. He nodded.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I was suddenly being shaken awake with a voice whispering "Chase. Chase, wake up."

We were at my house. Percy was looking at me with something like amusement. Girls would have thought it was cute. Guess my sleepy expression was funny. "Chase you gotta go. My mom'll kill me if I'm out past midnight."

I yawned. "Yeah and you dead is what most of the junior class- girls would hate. 'Night Jackson-"

He cut me off. "Percy. Call me Percy."

I smiled sleepily while getting my stuff from the back. I faced him and offered my hand. "Annabeth. Nice to meet you Percy."

He took it and turned it into a hug. I let the warmth from his body wash over me. Oh how cold August nights are.

He smiled at me, a genuine, pure smile of kindness that I wished I could have instead of walking back into that house. "Goodnight Annabeth." And he left.

I stood there for a second wondering how this guy would change my life.

Then I shook my head and walked towards the house.

Bobby and Matthew, my young twin stepsiblings greeted me with sleepy expressions. "Mommy and Daddy waited for you so we did too."

My stepbrothers and I actually get along pretty well, although they can be pains a lot of the time when I'm trying to focus on something. Dad and Susan were talking in the living room, which I had to pass through to get to my room upstairs. "Thanks guys," I said to the twins and walked to the parental figures.

They stopped talking the moment I stepped into the room. "Oh, Annabeth dear, we were just talking about you. We've set some goals for you." Susan said. Oh boy.

He ignored me. "First, you need to maintain a 95+ GPA if you want to go to any dances this year or hang out with friends."

"Hey, that's not-" I started to protest

Susan interrupted me this time. "Second, you'll keep your car maintained and filled with whatever money we give you. Speaking of which, where is your car? I didn't hear you pull up."

I dropped my gaze. "I left it at school. The battery died because I left the lights on."

"You'll have to fix that. Find a ride for tomorrow." My dad turned back to Susan and started an entirely new conversation.

I stormed upstairs to my room, taking my backpack and throwing against the bed. My dad wasn't like this ten years ago. Then he met Susan and things went to crap for my social life.

I tried to focus on Calculus homework, but it just wasn't making sense. It didn't help that my thoughts kept wandering to Percy. He was attractive. I couldn't deny that. But he definitely wasn't my kind of guy. What kind of a girl would like a guy who annoyed the hell out of her, gave her a place to de-stress, had cute hair and eyes, and was generally a pain overall?

Interrupting my thoughts was a light buzz from my pocket. I pulled out my phone to see an unknown number had texted. _Hey it's Calypso, Leo lifted your phone earlier so he could get your number to prank call you. Heard about your car. Want a ride tomorrow?_

I smiled, making a mental note to put her on the list of people in my life who actually qualified as human. _Yes thank you,_ I wrote back, adding my address.

 _We'll be there at 7,_ Was the final text. I wondered and kind of hoped that it wouldn't be that red car (an Impala, I think Leo called it?) they drove. And then my thoughts returned unbidden to Percy's jeep and… Time to focus on Calculus!

It was about three in the morning when I finished everything. I was really distracted. By the internet. Right.

The next morning a particular red Impala showed up at exactly 7:00. I knew it had to be Leo because either he was driving, or a bunch of 55 gallon drums had just rolled up to my house and honked twice. I grabbed my bag and walked out to the car. From the side it was long and sleek, with chrome bumpers and trim. The paint, which I hadn't looked at very well, was a blood-red scarlet that looked as if it were pure fire from the morning sun. Leo opened the trunk while Calypso pulled her seat forward to let me in. I handed Leo my backpack, saying "Thanks guys. I really needed the ride."

Leo shrugged. "Don't thank me. She made me do it."

Calypso laughed. "He's lying, it was his idea, Leo can't see a car in distress so he wanted to fix it after school today and give you a ride there."

Leo was starting the engine, so I leaned forward from the back seat and flashed Leo a smile. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I'll only jump-start your car if you tell me what you and Percy did at The Place last night."

Calypso's head snapped around so fast I was pretty sure she'd set a land-speed record. "You and Percy did WHAT now?

I felt my face flush as Leo pulled away from my house. "I just needed some open air was all."

Her eyes were wide. "You guys _just_ met and he already showed it to you?"

"Kind of surprising, since he and the rest of us kept it a secret from Rachel in the year they dated," Leo interjected, swerving to avoid a car in the middle of an intersection.

"I don't know, I just asked him. Who's Rachel?"

"Percy's ex. They dated for a year and broke up the summer between freshman and sophomore year. He hasn't dated since, I firmly believe he's scarred. She was a ticking time bomb of crazy, you do _not_ want to know how it ended."

So Percy had a girlfriend at one point. Why I was annoyed by this was anyone's guess. Percy was hot; of course he'd had a girlfriend. He'd probably had a bunch. In shotgun I could see Calypso's mind was racing, the steam was almost visible. I wondered if she-

"You never answered my question. What did you and Percy do?"

"Nothing much. Just kinda hung out," not wanting to tell them anything that might cause concern.

"Hang on Leo," Calypso asked suddenly. "How did you know they were at The Spot?"

Even from behind his head, I could tell Leo was grinning. "I put a tracker on his car a while ago."

I laughed. I should probably tell Percy- no. I was now determined not to be friends with him. He could have other girl friends.


	6. Once More unto the Breach

Chapter Six: Once More unto the Breach

Percy

Karma was nice to me this morning, and I found my passenger door. In my rearview mirror I saw Leo's Chevrolet, actually driving mostly straight a few cars back. When I pulled into the parking lot, the '68 pulled up in the parking space next to me. Leo and Calypso got out and an unexpected blonde head pulled herself out of the backseat- _Annabeth_.

Calypso smiled. "Beautiful day isn't it?"

I laughed. "Good enough for school to mess with." Calypso is always happy. She's a great person to have around. I turned to the girl I'd taken out last night. "Morning Annabeth"

She didn't look at me while getting her bag from the trunk. "Morning."

"We gave her a ride since her car was still here." Leo said while handing Calypso's backpack to her. I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of that. I guess Annabeth was sort of right, I can be a seaweed brain.

"Hey Annabeth, are you OK?" I asked, taking her shoulders with my hands. She shrugged, and pulled my hands off with her own. "I'm fine."

And she avoided my eyes for the rest of the walk to school, and even later, as it turned out. Through History, Art, and Italian, she avoided my gaze, pretending not to notice me whispering her name. Annabeth and I both snapped during Biology.

"Annabeth, why won't you talk to me?"

"Leave me alone."

"At least tell me why!"

"Just leave me alone!" and I was about to shout back 'No!' when Dr. Jacobs (great guy, by the way. Last year he had the entire class represent a DNA helix strand. Vertically.) said, "Chase! Jackson! See me after class!"

Annabeth glared at me furiously and I felt my already bruised shoulder start to hurt again.

We walked up to Dr. Jacobs' desk after class. Annabeth stared at the model of a human brain, and I at the fetal pig dissection book. "Both of you, you need to be quiet during class."

We nodded. "And Annabeth, I noticed your poor scores in General Biology from your previous school in New York, and-"

"That wasn't my fault! The course wasn't designed for someone with-" Annabeth interrupted.

"I understand your problems with dyslexia. I simply want Percy to tutor you should you require any help-"

This time we both interrupted. "You want WHAT?"

Dr. Jacobs waved a hand towards me. "Percy is in the Marine Biology club, and he has maintained a 94+ average in all of his science classes." _Suck it Annabeth._ I thought. "He is more than well equipped to tutor you. You may both go now, quickly."

"Gah!" Annabeth said once we were a few feet from the door, sort of next to the bathroom doors. "I will never get help from you!"

"Yeah 'cause your failing of Biology will help the perfect average you want." I retorted sarcastically.

"Seaweed Brain!"

"Can it, wise girl!

"That the best you can do?"

"You want more?!"

Mr. Blofis walked out of the bathroom at that moment. Annabeth froze, her mouth open and her eyebrows still narrowed. "I heard the argument. Ms. Chase, you have barely started the year, it is impossible to know how your class will go. Percy… Just… Go to Auto Shop. I'll see you at home."

I grunted and turned to go to a different part of the building. I hoped not to see her again for a while. But _why_ was she acting so rude? And it only seemed to me, she'd been fine with Leo and Calypso in homeroom.

I opened the door to the shop. Mr. Cline (or Tom as he prefers) doesn't care when you get there, if at all. The familiar smell of grease, metal, burning plastic, and a ton of chemicals filled my nose. This was home.

Jason and Leo were at work on their usual project, which they'd asked special permission from Tom to start in the summer and finish during the school year. I don't understand all of the plans, but they took a 1960's Ford truck frame, designed and built a V-12 Ferrari- patterned engine for it, putting it in the middle of the car for the best traction and center of gravity.

The Jason/Leo Project (Which they named the Mark XVII, kind of like the Iron Man suits), which was near the back of the room by one of the heavy- duty welders (this was on purpose). The whole shop was about 50x50, with a hand tool storeroom in one corner and a lift in another. Straight ahead on the opposite wall from the door was my project (and my stepdad's), a 1966 Mustang. The lift was empty today, usually it contained either Beckendorf's cars or his girlfriend's car. Tom's universal learning project was there, some kind of a Dodge. Challenger maybe.

The two seniors were working on separate areas, Jason underneath the car reworking the engine for the millionth time while Leo guided him through it, partially distracted by redesigning the sheetmetal on some part on a nearby workbench. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"I think it's a compression problem in cylinder twelve!" Jason called out from underneath.

Leo glanced up from his blueprints. "Double-check the valves. Especially the exhaust. Percy, can you grab me a compass? The geometrical kind, not the geography kind?"

I handed him the tool from a rolling tool cart, which he started to use to draw several arcs. Jason rolled out from underneath the frame and greeted me. "How goes it Perce?"

"Not bad. Heard from Beckendorf in the hallway that you might take this thing out on Friday?"

Jason shrugged and said, "Mainly for a test run. Nowhere else has enough of a straightaway. Although we might try a curve."

I grinned, remembering all the other times we'd raced our cars on The Spot's nearby dirt and gravel road. "You'll tow it with your Dodge?" I asked Jason.

"Of course," He said. "Dixie can always use a drive." His Ram 3500 is a beast, though no one has ever been able to figure out why he named it Dixie.

Leo paused two thirds in while drawing his circle. "So what's up with you and Chase? Did you take her out and break her heart or something?"

I flushed, but hoped they couldn't tell because of the heat. "Nah, I just gave her a ride home."

Jason smiled somewhat evilly, "You liar, you took her to The Spot!"

 _Crap._ "Nothing happened. At all. Promise."

Leo grunted. "Hope you're not still hung up on Rachel."

I felt my eyes widen slightly. "Dude, you have got to be kidding. I still have the scar, remember? It finally healed over," pointing to my left chest.

Jason and Leo both winced. "Yeah, we know."

I love these guys to death but the concept of me getting together with Rachel ever again is astronomically impossible. I would rather date Annabeth. Well, that's easy to say, because we're almost-but-not-really-seemingly-going-to-happen-friends. But Rachel is a hella no. Not after a year of pain and another of hiding it from my mom and Paul.

The rest of the day went by quickly, I mostly worked on Paul's Mustang. He'd had it since he was a teenager, but it slowly rusted away to disrepair. We had the agreement that I would get to drive it if I did most of the work to fix it. At one point I was called over by Jason and Leo to mediate the argument of which a car horn looks like more: a seashell or hairdryer. I went with seashell.

After school let out, I soon found myself walking beside Annabeth by accident. We were both deeply interested in avoiding one another's faces and talking to other people (Me to one of my friends Thalia, and her with Jason and his new girlfriend Piper, whom I didn't really know.) I did catch her glancing at me a couple of times with my peripherals, and I think she did the same. I drove home with the radio off.


	7. Tick, Tick, Boom

Chapter Seven: Tick, Tick, Boom

Annabeth

I walked with Mr. Blofis to English after Percy's and mine confrontation. I was still a little confused, so I asked, "Mr. Blofis, what did you mean by 'I'll see you at home?'"

Mr. Blofis turned to me with a curious expression, "Don't you know that-Oh! You're new here, sorry. Percy's my stepson. As of almost a year and a half."

I didn't think the human jaw could stretch like a detachable snake jaw, but I'm pretty sure mine hit the floor. It did so quite literally after I tripped. "Percy's your _what_?" I said in a strangled and disbelieving voice after picking myself and my dignity off the floor.

Paul laughed at my tone and face. "Yeah, I met his mom through a creative writing class. We dated for a little over a year, and then I proposed on top of the Empire State Building, while we were on vacation."

I nodded. I knew the exact spot they would have to have been to get the best view. "Did… Percy approve?"

"I asked him first, actually. Seeing as he is the man of the house."

I went to my seat when we got to the English room, my thoughts focused on the classwork. They wandered Percy a couple of times. Just a couple.

The next three days were quiet between the two of us. In Biology, I made a new friend named Thalia. She's a punk girl, Death to Perfume and stuff like that. We're both into the same bands, like Green Day, Fall Out Boy, that kind of thing. On Friday after school by our lockers, Thalia turned to me and asked, "Hey, are you going to come to the Shop tonight? It's a pretty cool place. There's a dirt racetrack, a huge field and this perfect spot to see the sunset"

I cut her off. "I've already been there. With Jackson."

Her dark eyebrows shot up. "You and Percy are an item? What? When did this happen?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Not gonna happen. _Ever_."

"Will you at least go out with us? I think my kid brother or Leo could give you a ride there from your house."

"Your brother?"

"Jason. Tall, blonde, I think you've met him. He's a junior. Dating the Greek history nerd What'sherface. Piper."

I was shocked. They were related? Seriously? "Yeah I'll go, but only if they can get me from my house. My car needs work."

Thalia snorted. "I heard. See you later Annie." She turned to go to her (different) parking lot.

"Don't call me Annie!" I yelled at her retreating back. Leo and Calypso were at my car as promised, and he helped jump it. "You're coming to The Spot tonight, right?"

It was Calypso who had asked. "I think I can if you guys give me a ride from my house. I have to do stuff there first." Stuff being changing clothes.

"Sure." Leo said after detaching the cables. "Pickup at six sound good? That'll give you about two and a half hours. During which time Jason and I are going to be loading up… Well, you'll see it tonight."

I looked over at Calypso, with what I hoped was an overtly questioning face. But she simply smiled and looked at the sky obliviously.

When I got home, I went straight to my room as fast as possible, avoiding any confrontations with my parents. I showered in the adjacent bathroom and put on a pair of jeans, a tank top, and my NY Yankees baseball cap. It felt like that hat was all I had left of New York. I wanted to go back for the close quarters of the city, but I also liked the open air here, and suburbs. Suburbs are weird.

I stayed in my room right up until I heard the familiar honk, to which I rushed out, calling to whoever was in the house and listening, "I'll be home after midnight!"

Leo's car was a comfortable creature on the highway. I liked the way the burble of the engine rumbled through the car. I didn't see how it could lose a race; it seemingly had enough untapped power to move trees. We turned off the highway onto a familiar stretch of country road. Leo, unlike Percy, did not give a warning. He anticipated it, Calypso and I did not and were thrown into the right side of the car when he turned left to jump the stream. "Leo," She grumbled, "tell us when you are planning on killing us, it may make us slightly more willing."

Leo laughed, and gunned the accelerator. This car could rip your head off. We left tire tracks in the grass, heading toward a group of cars that were gathering by what looked like a dirt track. Jason, a girl next to him-Piper, Thalia, a big African- American dude with _whoa_ worthy arm muscles and his girlfriend, the pale- looking kid from the first day –Nico, a tall, a cute blonde boy wearing a cutoff t shirt who was holding a medical bag and an arrow tattooed on his shoulder, and then a white t shirted, raven black hair boy with aquamarine eyes. Crap.

Jason and Piper walked over. Piper offered her hand "Hey, Leo. Calypso. I don't know you. I'm Piper."

I took it. "I think I've heard of you." I said. "Thalia said you were the Greek nerd."

Piper contemplated this for a few seconds. "Yeah… sounds about right."

And then Percy walked over.


	8. Ready, Set, Backfire

**(A/N: Against my better judgement, I'm posting this without having finished chapter 10. Chapter 9 however... whoo. Enjoy!)**

Chapter Eight: Ready, Set, Backfire

Percy

I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I was happy to see Annabeth here despite the cold shoulder all week. She looked to be enjoying herself with Jason, Piper, Leo, and Calypso. I figured Jason, Leo and I needed to talk about their project, which I had just finished unloading. At the moment it really just looked like a go-kart with a nice engine (which still technically did not work).

I walked over to the small crowd, leaving Thalia, Will, and Nico to have fun or whatever. I saw Annabeth kind of cringe when I got close.

Ouch.

"Yo, Jason, Leo, the Mark XVII is ready to go. Who's driving?"

"I am." "Leo is." Jason and Leo said at the same time. Man, those two were in sync. Or maybe one's crazy enough to get in this thing and the other wise enough to know there's no stopping him. They walked to their car and began pushing it to the starting line. I turned to the others, but more specifically towards Annabeth. "Shall we?" I asked.

She gave me an odd look. Something mixed from guarded to hopeful. Weird. The two girls and I walked to Jason's Ram, where we could get a better view if we sat on the hood. Thalia was the one timing the run. Will was there to race his own souped-up '86 Camaro and to be the on-site medic.

Leo started the V12. It took a few goes, but on the fourth try the triple two barrels pushed the air and fuel into the engine to hear the unmuffled KEROOMPHBOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM BOOM-BOOM and so on. I heard it backfire only twice, which was surprising given the time in which they'd built the engine.

Thalia, somewhat taken aback that the thing had actually started, delayed the time trial. Then she realized she was standing there for no reason and shouted, "GO!"

Leo gunned the accelerator and threw the car into gear. I heard two more BANGs but the car shot off through the track, tearing around the first corner and sliding into the second. I could see the frame's suspension wasn't doing well, it was built on a truck and was about half a century old. But Leo was screaming with joy all the way through. When Leo finished his lap, he braked and killed the engine. Jason was ecstatic. "Hot damn I do believe we do know how to build an engine!"

The group clapped and then split into pairs for who was going to drag race nearby or do their own time trials. I opted to sit out and watch the time trials on the hood of my jeep because Jason wanted to time his truck. I loaded the Mark XVII back onto the trailer. I was proud of the work they'd done. They had let me design some of the first versions of the car, and my influence had gone through; the hood that was going to be made was of my design as well as some of the interior dash.

I noticed a certain blonde girl standing alone. I walked over. "Want to see another sunset?"

Annabeth's gray eyes searched mine. If I hadn't been so intent on sort of disliking her, I could have drowned in those eyes and been happy. She opened her mouth and spoke haltingly. "I… I'd like… Yes. I would like to see the sunset."

"Hop in." I jumped right in to the jeep, while she opened her door. Oops. Forgot about that. I started the engine and drove the distance to where we had been on Monday night. The sun had just begun to set, and was turning the sky to goldenrod, and Annabeth's hair along with it. I killed the engine and we just sat there for a few minutes, not unpleasantly. Finally I turned to her, "Annabeth, please, _please_ tell me why you're mad at me."

And with that she got out of the car and strode around to the front, where I followed her to. She sat down on the grass, leaning against the bumper, to which I followed suit, my bruised shoulder lightly touching hers. "It's not really you. I mean, it is, but it's also not. My dad… he and Susan… We argue. A lot. About my life, about dating, about me having friends, grades, whatever. We always fight. I haven't been allowed to have a boyfriend since the third grade."

And for some weird reason, in that very instant, I realized I liked her. I wanted to spend time with her. For a long time. "I don't think you missed much. The only person I dated was a girl named Rachel," I felt her body tense up, "and I ended it because I realized she was insane"

Annabeth turned towards me. "How'd she take it?"

Still sitting down, I leaned forward and took off my t shirt. Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' when she saw my abs. Thank you swimming. But her eyes traveled up towards my face and froze on my left chest. "On the day I broke up with her, I went to her house. She has a garage and a small forge where she makes art projects and stuff. That day, she was making another, and it was in the fire. The moment after I told her, she grabbed it out of the fire (I don't remember if she was wearing gloves, I think she was) and pressed it against my chest. It burned straight through my shirt and left me with this thing. The next time she saw me, she started singing 'Burning love'."

The scar would have been kind of cool without the surrounding circumstances. It was a triangle, with every side shooting off in one direction, about two inches by two inches. I looked into Annabeth's gray eyes. "Annabeth, I think I-"

My mom had once watched a chick flick after I was supposed to be asleep when I was five years old, and I watched it from behind a corner. I remember one teenage girl saying to another, 'The best way to get a guy to shut up is to kiss him' which I had laughed about right up until now.

I figured my brain had to have just shorted out. Her lips were slightly chapped but still very soft and she smelled of strawberries. Her hands went on my shoulders and shoved me to the ground, when she stopped kissing me she whispered fiercely, "I don't care about my parent's rules or either of our crappy pasts. Percy Jackson, I want to be yours, and I want you to be _mine._ "

 **(A/N: If anyone's curious as to what the scar actually looks like, the triangle shape image representing the story is what it is. Only, you know, it's flesh-colored.** **)**


	9. Light Fuse, Run Away

Chapter Nine: Light Fuse, Run Away

Annabeth

I could barely believe what had happened the next morning. Leo had gotten his experiment working. Check. Saw the sunset. Check. I… Kissed Percy? And then he drove me home… Did he kiss me goodnight? Nah. Not possible.

I seriously couldn't think straight. I keep trying to wrap my mind around Percy. He took my perfectly organized and categorized life and threw it out the window. God I hate him for it.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep all that well.

The next day I drove to school and the only song that the radio stations seemed capable of playing was 'Best Day of my Life'. And then a year passed and I felt like I'd slept through it.

I'm kidding. But seriously, the day blurred a crapton and I don't have much memory until Italian, where Leo (and Calypso, but in a much lesser capacity) were trying to convince Ms. Dino that they were quite capable of teaching mechanics in Italian. Leo, by the way, sucks at any language other than English, Spanish, and Morse code. In the back of the room, Percy tried to impress me with his knowledge of… well, stuff.

"Did you know the Hoover Dam can flood the entire state of New York?" Percy whispered while leaning over to see what I was doodling on my notes (the Eiffel Tower).

"Yes, and it's 726 feet tall, built from 1931 to 1936, contains 28,537,000 acre-ft of water in the reservoir, and has 2700 miles of transmission lines going to LA."

Percy looked at me with something resembling a combination of annoyance and amusement. "Yeah… well… Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open."

"You're making that up."

"No, I heard about it on TV. On a show. It happened to be called _Psych_."

"You are such a Seaweed Brain."

"Odd, because I don't think you would have kissed me if you really thought I was a Seaweed Brain."

We locked eyes. My stomach did a little flip as I started to feel like I was being pulled into his seafoam eyes. _Dang Chase, you have a problem_. I cleared my throat and broke the silence. "I don't think you're that much a Seaweed Brain." I mumbled.

He leaned in even closer, tipping his chair dangerously. "Sorry, can I hear that again?"

I looked around quickly to make sure no one, especially Ms. Dino, was watching. I was already not her favorite. "Shut up." I whispered, and quickly kissed him. His face was almost the same as yesterday during the sunset, kind of like an adorable shocked puppy.

Unfortunately the laws of physics still applied and Percy's chair tipped over toward me, sending me flying out of my seat toward the wall and leaving Percy in lying across my seat. I was laughing my butt off despite having banged my head on the wall, " _That_ is why I call you Seaweed Brain!"

He was grumbling about how the chairs sucked until Ms. Dino called out, "Percy! See me after class!"

Calypso and Leo (who had returned to their seats and were pretending to learn while passing notes) crowed "Oooooooooooh" in unison. Percy waited out the bell to talk to Ms. Dino at her desk, and me having all these feelings and stuff, I waited nearby in the classroom. Ms. Dino's a shorter Italian woman, though she speaks English quite well. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, resting her face in her hands. "You two have become close, I see." I flushed, not looking at Percy. She then focused at Seaweed Brain. "Percy, your grades are dismal and terrible at best," she continued. "I am assigning you a tutor. In one of my other classes a Miss Rachel Dare is offering to tutor and you shall take extra lessons from her."

As soon as Dare's name came up, Percy's left hand started to shake a little. I stepped forward to the desk and resisted the urge to yell, 'I volunteer as tribute!', "Ms. Dino, I can tutor him. It would be better for both of us. He's already helping me with Biology and I can always spend some time helping him with his verb conjugation and vocabulary."

She looked at me with suspicion. "Ms. Dare is more than-"

"With all due respect ma'am," Percy said in a tight and controlled voice, "Rachel Elizabeth Dare and I do not get along whatsoever."

She looked back at me. "Ms. Chase, I will be looking to you for a change in his grades."

I stepped closer to Percy and took his curling and uncurling fist in my hand behind our backs. "I understand Ms. Dino."

"Good. Now get going."

We grabbed our backpacks and headed to the Biology class were already late for. In a particularly empty hallway Percy wordlessly took my hand and held it almost until we got to the door. I couldn't fight the small smile on my face. When Dr. Jacobs saw the two of us enter simultaneously, he threw up his hands and lecture notes and cried out theatrically, "I don't even want to know where you guys were!"

Thalia gave me a thumbs-up and that blonde arrow-tattoo guy shot Percy a grin.

A few weeks later, actually more like a month and a half, I went to Percy's house for the first time on a Saturday night. We'd had two tutoring sessions, but tonight was tutoring and later a movie. Technically it would be our third date. We'd only had lunch on a weekend once, as an official date. I nervously knocked on the door of his two-story. It was a quaint house on a nice piece of land, about an acre and a detached garage that was almost the size of a small barn.

It was Percy's stepdad who answered the door. "Annabeth, come on in!"

I stepped in and closed the door behind me. "Hey Mr. Blofis. Good to see you." The smell of cookies baking was intoxicating. I saw a brown-haired woman in the kitchen, pausing over something before looking up and smiling at me. "You must be Annabeth. I'm Sally Jackson."

I looked questioningly at Mr. Bofis. He looked back until he figured it out. "Oh, right the name change. She decided to keep her last name because of her writing novels."

I took another look at Ms. Jackson. "Wait, you're _the_ Sally Jackson? Two time New York Time Best Seller for fiction?"

"And baker of blue cookies." She added, pulling a pan out of the oven.

There was a sudden tumble and a large shape fell down the stairs. Oh, Percy. "I smelled happiness in the oven," he announced. Percy didn't say anything when he looked at me, he just smiled and I'm pretty sure my heart backfired like Leo's car.

"No! They're not done! Out! Out!" Ms. Jackson exclaimed, lightly hitting Percy with the oven mitts. He laughed and took my hand to pull me up the stairs to what I assumed was his room. It was simple and small, and not actually very messy. There was country music playing softly on the radio, which he turned off when we walked in. I opened my backpack on his bed and pulled out my bio notes while he took a seat on the floor. "So what should we start with?"

"Let's go with…" I flipped through the most recent notes. "Sodium and potassium pumps from the nervous system."

"Okay, so here's how it starts…" and Percy continued explaining for an hour about diffusion, electrochemical signals, speed and hormones. He actually understood all this crap.

We switched over to Italian for an hour and then we picked a movie to watch on his laptop (Mulan. Hey, I like it) and inhaled blue chocolate chip cookies.

Midway through, I stood up and felt the blood leave my head. "I have to go to the bathroom."

Percy glanced up at me. "Downstairs, near the kitchen."

After doing my business, I took my time going back to Percy's room, partly because I was avoiding more biology, but mostly because I was admiring the artwork around the house. It was everything, pencil stuff, acrylic paintings, charcoal, pastels, watercolor. I was studying a particularly beautiful black and white drawing of what I thought was a blue whale when Ms. Jackson stepped up next to me. "Percy did that when he was eleven. He loved the blue whale. Wanted to be one if he could."

I turned to her and smiled. "He's very good."

She smiled back. "Yes he… well, he was. Percy stopped after he broke up with Rachel."

"Well that's not surprising seeing as how he had to recover his from the burn she gave him."

She looked at me quizzically. I thought this was odd, but I babbled on anyway, "You know, the triangle scar on his chest that Rachel gave him? From the burn-"

I suddenly had a thought that unfortunately coincided with the look of horror on Ms. Jackson's face. Without taking her eyes off me, she called Percy down. "Percy would you please come down here?" Her voice was filled with emotion. He appeared seconds later. "Yeah?"

"Lift up your shirt please." Ms. Jackson asked. I was too ashamed to look at him and kept my eyes on the tile floor.

"What's going on?" I heard Percy say.

"Just do it," she pleaded.

Against my will, I looked up to see Percy lifting his shirt. Ms. Jackson gasped. "Paul! Get down here! Now! Percy, how did- Annabeth said you- Rachel- _how long?_ "

Percy dropped his shirt and looked at me. The green eyes I'd come to love were stormy, " _You_ told her?!"

"Percy I-I-"

Mr. Blofis arrived. "What's going on?"

"Rachel gave Percy a-" But Percy yelling at me drowned anything else out.

"How could you tell her?! I trusted you with it and this is how you hurt me?! Why!?"

I felt like I was back at my dad's house. But this time, it hurt more because it was about someone who I really cared about, so the tears started forming sooner. I swallowed and ran to Percy's room just in time to hear Mr. Blofis yell, "What the f-" and then I shut the door and let out the tears that had threatened to spill, I sobbed into Percy's pillow for a long time.

About an hour later someone knocked on the door. I stood up and made myself as presentable as I could in my state hoping all the while, _Please don't be Percy._ It was Ms. Jackson. Her own eyes were tinged red and she immediately wrapped me in a hug. I folded up and started crying a little bit again. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

"Shhhh, it's going to be all right Annabeth. We'll make it through this. All of us. You included." She pulled away slightly, keeping contact with her hands on my shoulders.

I nodded mutely, unable to say anything. Ms. Jackson picked up my backpack and notes. "C'mon. Probably not best you stick around with Percy like he is."

I nodded again and followed her down the stairs. On the landing she hugged me once more after giving me my stuff. "Give Percy a while. I know he'll come around. He likes you a lot, you know."

I wiped away residual tears and let out a shaky laugh. "I like him too."

Ms. Jackson smiled sadly. "See you later Annabeth."

I turned and walked to my car.

It was a lonely drive home.


	10. Hey There Delilah

Chapter Ten: Hey There Delilah

Percy

The day after all that stuff with my scar I was pissed. Sure I've been angry before, the fist-through-wall kind of thing. But this was just pure anger and rage. I needed a release. What someone called 'a pressure release valve'. Piper. She said that.

Mom and Paul had grilled me during the time Annabeth was upstairs. Ok, I know they weren't really trying to grill me, but it felt like it. Actually, you know the feeling when you're trapped in an arena with an impossible adversary backing you into a corner? No? Just me? Forget it.

Anyway, Mom inspected the burn thoroughly, pressing on it and generally being a mother, while Paul had asked the Where, When, Why, How, and Why Would You Not Tell Us questions. After that little session had ended, there began "Should we press charges?" question.

I voted no, everything had healed and I had no contact with Rachel since. Mom was on the fence but Paul was all for it. "Percy, what if she does it again? To someone else?"

"Then they can be the ones to press charges. I don't care. I don't ever want to see her again." I said. And that was the end of that. Well, that particular question/problem at least.

Oh, right, Piper. I'd gotten to know her since she and Jason had started dating a couple of months ago.. She and I had bonded over boarding, I liked the Ripstick and she longboarded. Piper was a speed demon. Her personal record on longboard was 62.7 mph (as Jason continually told me), and that was while she was taking a curve. I called her up and hoped she would and answer.

She did. "Y'ello"

"Hey, Pipes, can we meet up? Like now?"

"Sure thing Percy. Meet you at the Spot."

I practically sprinted to my jeep, out of the house. When I got to the Spot Piper was already there, leaning her black Pontiac. I pulled up next to her and started talking before I even got out of my car.

"….And then it turns out she's blabbed the whole thing to my mom! I'm being watched by both Mom and Paul, and-"

"Percy," Piper interrupted, "It sounds like Annabeth made a mistake and your parents are worried about you."

"That doesn't change the fact that she told-"

"And the only reason you're this upset is because you really care about her."

That stopped my tangent, mouth open. Piper looked at me inquisitively. "Percy," she asked thoughtfully, "Do you like her?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I mean yeah she was a great friend-"

"No, she _is_ a great friend."

"Fine. She is a great friend and person and her laugh is fun and her hair is beautiful and her eyes-"

"Breath, Percy. Goooooood. Land your plane. Do you like her- in a romantic sense?"

I exhaled. "Point is… yeah?"

Piper smiled and ran a hand through her long dark braided locks. "You need to apologize. Not right now. The opportunity should present itself soon enough."

I looked at her. "You know you sound cheesy. Like Dumbledore."

She laughed. "Dumbledore is _not_ cheesy."

"I know," I hugged her. "Thanks Pipes."

She patted my back in the embrace. "Anytime, partner."

It was almost two weeks without Annabeth. It was made even worse because in most of the classes we share, we sat near each other. I thought I caught her a couple times doodling the letters 'PJ' on paper, but I could never see it correctly. She gave me space, which I appreciated.

I kept my head down and did the work I was supposed to. Nothing more, nothing less. So, I'm pretty sure my Italian grade dropped, but hey. Exams came and went (yeah, actually my grade did drop) without a squeak from either of us.

The moment came when we were both leaving Art, when Annabeth bumped my shoulder on accident while getting her backpack. "Sorry" we said in unison.

I glanced over and found myself gazing into those gray eyes. "Percy," she started.

"Annabeth-let me start- I'm sorry I yelled at you and it's not your fault for telling my mom that-"

"I should have known it was a secret from how you told me so-"

We were talking at the same time over one another, so nothing was really being heard. I stopped first and she stopped immediately after, blushing furiously. She took a deep breath. "Percy, I'm sorry."

I looked her in the storm cloud eyes. "It's okay." She exhaled quickly, blowing a loose bang out of her face. She was nervous. Annabeth Chase was nervous. This had to be unprecedented.

Annabeth kept eye contact, but there was a new twinkle of mischievousness alongside of the tension. "Percy… What if we… skipped class?"

I gaped. "You're kidding right? You have to be kidding. Annabeth Chase does not skip class."

She took one of my hands. "I'd skip it for you."

I thought it over. If Annabeth was willing to skip the next four periods for me, what had I almost lost? I wasn't going to lose her again.

"Let's do it."

We sprinted to the parking lot, blowing through a side exit and across the street. Within minutes the Jeep was on the entrance ramp to the highway. I drove slowly once we got off the highway, and even drove slowly on the grass to reach our spot.

We leaned back against the front fender, enjoying the cool breeze roll off the hill and onto our faces. She took off her shirt, leaving her tank top on. "I want to suntan. Got a problem with that Jackson?"

I shook my head and took off my own shirt.

We lay there for a while. The sun felt good against our skin and we held a pleasant conversation until it died away into a comfortable silence.

I suddenly woke up with the sound of a hawk crying out in the distance. Annabeth's head was in my lap, and she was breathing quietly. The soft rise and fall of her chest was soothing, it almost made me fall asleep again. Then I looked up to the sky. "Annabeth, wake up."

I shook her. "C'mon wake up. We'll miss it."

Annabeth mumbled something into my chest. I sighed and grabbed her by the armpits and hauled her up with me. She was a large, surprisingly muscled, blonde ragdoll. Her head lolled back onto the seat as I made sure her belt was on. Even if we were going a few hundred yards, I didn't care. Just in case.

I started the jeep and drove to the sunset spot. I wondered if Annabeth would ever wake up, until I thought to whisper in her ear, "If you don't wake up, I'll never kiss you again."

Annabeth sat up so fast her hair smacked me and left some in my mouth. "I'm awake." She announced unnecessarily.

"Sunset." I said, pointing to the disappearing star.

We sat in front of the car until the night fell. It was then she told me. "Percy, I'm going to college –"

"Yeah, most of us are. Especially you."

"-In the summer." She finished.

 _Oh._ Was the only word that came to mind.

"It's a great program, it jump-starts the college curriculum and I can meet some actual CEOs and architects and-"

I leaned my head on her shoulder. "You need to go."

"What, right now? 'Cause you're the one who drove me out here-" Her voice sounded confused and I could imagine her face.

"No, I mean the summer program. It's what you need to do." I looked up at her. "Just trust me. It's a gut feeling."

Annabeth nodded. Her owl earrings caught the early moonlight. How had I not noticed them before? "Alright. But we have now. Let's take it."

Annabeth put her head on my recently unbruised shoulder and I put my own head on hers.

Her voice vibrated to my head the next time she spoke. "Hey… There's a school dance coming up next month. Would you… you know…"

"Want to go?" I finished and then paused, thinking before answering and I felt her tensing up. "Yeah."

Annabeth relaxed and kissed me on the cheek. "It'll be my first dance."

"It's the only dance we can go to. Seniors are only allowed to go to prom. Some rule they came up with in the 1950s." I said.

"Oh. Prom then."

"Mmm. We'll need to ride in style. And I need to make a good impression on your parents."

She looked at me, amused. "Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"Just trust me and meet me in my garage next Sunday."

As it was, we both got caught for skipping and got detention. The detention was us helping Paul with Shakespeare rehearsals for a local play. Actually, it was kind of fun. We got to mess up and yell at each other in weird accents in front of a couple of kids who had wandered in. The bad part of it was that Annabeth got flak from her parents for missing school. She said it "Was like trying to survive falling out of the Arch."


	11. Only in Catalina

Chapter Eleven: Only in Catalina

Annabeth

Dad and Susan were not happy, and that's the understatement of the century. "You skipped class?!" Dad exploded. "You put your Columbia University scholarship on the line for what?!"

Susan was no help, even if she held her temper. "Annabeth, skipping class is something that you've never done. What could possibly drive you to-"

"His name is Percy," I interrupted, "And I'm going to prom with him."

Oh man, that was _not_ the right thing to say.

"A _BOY_? YOUR GRADES ARE NOT HIGH ENOUGH! AND YOU RISK LOSING YOUR FULL RIDE TO COLUMBIA! ANNABETH, ARE YOU EVEN _LISTENING_?!"

Nah, that takes effort that I don't really feel like giving. But fake it till you make it, right? "Yes father," I deadpanned.

"Not funny Annabeth," Dad growled.

I sighed. "Nothing is Dad. Not anymore. Not since you started trying to micromanage."

And that was when Dad stopped talking to me.

The next Sunday was a beautiful day for everything. It was 72 degrees, low humidity with a few clouds dotting the otherwise azure sky. I pulled into his driveway, and parked on the empty concrete add-on. The garage door was already opened and I could hear Percy cussing from inside. His jeep sat outside with the hood open and some parts lying on the gravel around it. He cusses like a horse. What does that even mean? Forget it.

I saw Ms. Jackson watching from the inside of the house and I hesitantly raised my hand in hello, which to my relief she copied.

There were a couple crashes, then a loud BANG, followed by silence until Percy yelled from somewhere inside the garage, "We're good!"

I walked into the darkness, letting my eyes adjust in the doorway. "Percy?"

"Hey!" There was another, quieter, crash and Percy appeared in front of me, covered in dust. "I found the lights."

He reached to his right and flipped a switch, which turned an array of lights from all different decades past. On the left sat an old latching fridge, next to a workbench that stretched for ten feet until it met the wall of a staircase leading to the second floor. Next to that was a rolling bench top tool cabinet. There was an engine hoist on an I-beam, with the chain swinging above a tarp covered… Uh oh.

"This," Percy announced proudly, "is my grandfather's garage. And this was his last car."

Percy yanked off the tarp to reveal a vintage blue (of course it was) - colored convertible. "In 1967, this was known as the crossroad of luxury and muscle," He plugged in an LED worklight for greater effect. "This is my grandfather's Pontiac Catalina. He got every option for it when it came out. It has the four barrel 428 cubic inch engine pushing 376 horsepower, with power disc brakes, power steering, air conditioning, and an electric convertible top."

I walked around the car as he talked. It had been a beautiful machine at one point. But the car had fallen to disrepair. Even I could tell untrained, that the rust was bad and completely eating away at the metal in some areas, the top was full of holes and the engine was in pieces. The entire top of the car was patina rust. It was missing two of four headlights and the chrome was missing along the entire car.

I looked at Percy who stood by the driver's door. "What are you going to do with it?"

" _We_ are going to fix it. This is our ride to prom."

"Oh no. No, no nonononono. No. I am not working on a car. Do you know what-"

Percy took my face in his hands and kissed me. It was long, it was slow. It was intoxicating. When we broke the kiss, he looked into my soul (metaphorically) and asked, "Annabeth, what could possibly go wrong?"

God dammit.

It took us/him right up until the two days before prom. "First mechanics," Percy had said. "Then cosmetics."

The first day I lit the hood on fire with gasoline. "Happens all the time." Was the only response after a fire extinguisher dance.

The second day I broke something. I'm not sure what it was, but Percy called it a 'fuel cam lobe' or something. I gathered that it was bad and required Percy to tear down (his words, not mine) at least part of the engine. So he rebuilt the whole thing. I don't think he slept during the time he did it. His grandfather had a small fabrication shop above the garage, which is how Percy was able to build everything without delay from ordering parts.

Wait, that makes it sound like he rebuilt an engine overnight. Hah, no. Percy built the engine in two weeks (I suspect Leo helped a lot). In the first week, Nico got us in touch with a guy who was able to recreate the original paint. Apparently Nico really likes ink and stuff. Percy says he has a tattoo somewhere, and loves painting and has a lot of friends (Seaweed Brain calls Nico's contacts 'The Underworld' because they all wear black). Anyway, the operation ran pretty smoothly, although the rings under Percy's eyes got worse.

We also figured out a way to study, since midterm exams were just after prom. I kept relating the Catalina to Italian in different conjugations of verbs and how he was working on it, etc. while Percy equated the car's mechanics to… well, everything in Biology. I hated it but loved it with him.

Gah, I was falling fast.

Seventeen days in, Percy confirmed the transmission was fine. "Do. Not. Touch it." I did as a joke and then one of the exhaust pipes rusted off. I think Percy fixed it, but he never told me…

On the twenty-third day we got it running. Thanks to Leo, who was present at the time.

"Dude, next time, don't make this a time-related project. Do it right, not fast."

Percy pulled his hands from the carburetor's springs, which kept pulling air noisily into the engine. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Yeah right. Okay Annabeth, gun it!"

I lowered my foot onto the accelerator pedal. The engine hummed loudly, then jerked the car until it roared. The tachometer needle rose to 3500 RPM. Thankfully Jason had donated a pair of mufflers to the cause and the Cat wasn't unreasonably loud. Percy signaled me over the hoodless front, and I turned the key off.

"Hey Perce, been wondering, what happened to all the chrome?"

"Mom had it all rechromed after I took it all off last year. It's somewhere around here."

Leo nodded. "Well, I got a date. Nice work Annabeth. Don't forget about that test tomorrow!"

"Thanks, tech support."

Leo turned around while walking to his Impala, grinning devilishly. "Don't forget I can mess your car up just as well as I can fix it."

"Don't forget I can mess you up. Or I can just tell Calypso."

 _Boys._

Four days before prom, Percy announced that he had completed the welding and reconstruction of the rusted metal, and had sanded the entire car for the paint.

"Can I see it?"

"Nope. It's a surprise for when it's done."

During all of this, my father and I had exchanged only the bare minimum of words for my continued survival in the house, until the night before when I tried on my dress just because.

It was a mid-tone cerulean column sleeveless V-neck that I hoped would complement my… everything.

Susan walked in while I was looking at the wall mirror. She gasped. "Oh Annabeth, you look stunning."

Susan had been kind to me since Dad wasn't. Maybe it was her way of making up for the crap years. Maybe she was happy I was going to college in a little over four months. Whatever the reason, I accepted the kindness.

"How should I do my hair?"

Susan pursed her lips. "Just leave it down. Don't straighten it."

And then Bobby and Matthew burst in. They goggled at me. "Annabeth's wearing a dress!" Matt exclaimed.

"Annie's going to a dance! Do you have a boyfriend Beth?" Bobby added.

"Percy is not-" I started.

"PERRRRRRRRCCCCYYYYYYYY!" They cried out in unison

"Do you love him Anna?" Bobby said.

"Annie and Percy, sitting in a-" Matt began before I clamped a hand over his mouth and shoved both of them out of the room. "GET OUT!"

Susan was smiling once I closed the door. She picked up a pair of black strappy stiletto shoes. "Here," She said, "Use these."

"Thanks." I put them on and I felt more confident and sure of my life, and about two inches taller.

Susan looked me up and down. "He'll love it."

"You've never met him," I replied.

"Doesn't matter. Any guy could fall for you."

I took a particular interest in the floor and my shoes. "Thanks Susan."

"Annabeth, I know we've never had the best of relationships, but I'm sorry that we argued. I'm sorry that I was the reason you ran away… And I'm sorry I couldn't support you more."

I wasn't ready to hug her or anything yet, but maybe there was a good friendship in the future for us.


	12. Dancing? What the Hell is that?

Chapter 12: Dancing? What the Hell is that?

Percy

The Catalina had taken 33 days, 4 hours and about 26 seconds before the final coating of paint was laid down. Now, technically, it wasn't done but an air conditioning compressor, half of an exhaust pipe and a couple of body bracings weren't going to hold me back from living my dreams.

I was really hoping the weather would hold out. Despite being December in Cincinnati it was about 60 degrees, though ice was expected next week. I may or may not have skipped that whole 'convertible top has no top' part. Oh well.

Paul helped me pick the tie. He has a knack for choosing between different hues of blue and the one he chose he called 'a mix of ice and Superman' went with the black suit.

Whatever it was, the whole combination made Mom proud. She ruffled my hair and told me to be careful.

"Yes Mom."

She looked at me meaningfully, "And don't do anything stupid."

I walked outside and got in the Catalina. The engine growled as I turned the key, and a quick belch of black smoke puffed from the twin exhaust pipes. I put the car in first and took off. The air was cool and whipped my combed hair out of place, and I loosened my tie and whacked the radio, jostling the wires to power the speakers. The Cab's 'Bad' came on, static-y.

 _I want a bad girl, baby, bad_

 _I want a love that's crazy, yeah_

Not really my song but it was fun to crank up and watch the sparks fly from underneath the dash. Literally. Probably a bad connection to the ground terminal. Okay, the car hadn't shut off yet, we'd be fine.

Moving on, I got to Annabeth's house and I walked to the door, after throwing the hat I'd kept on the passenger seat on.

Just before I was about to knock, the door opened and Annabeth stood before me in a beautiful curve-fitting blue tint dress, nervously twisting a silver bracelet on her wrist. Her blonde hair tumbled onto her shoulders and she wore hints of blush and a light pink lipstick. Annabeth looked at me up and down, before saying, "What in the name of _sanity_ is on your head?"

I smoothly pulled off the cowboy hat and simultaneously kissed her hand like a gentleman would with royalty. I think. That's how they do it, right? "I call it part of my charm."

She looked adorably flustered, and I heard someone clearing their throat behind us. "Um, hi."

I looked past her golden locks to see a man in his late 40s, sporting a half day beard and hair sticking out at all angles. I stuck out my hand. "Mr. Chase, I'm Percy Jackson."

He took it and shook before asking, "1968 Pontiac?"

"1967 Catalina. Four-Barrel carburetor on top of a 428 Hi-Compression engine pushing over 375 horses."

"Impressive. I personally am more interested in the Great War, and things of that nature."

"Sorry Mr. Chase." I replied with humor. "Annabeth nixed the Mark IV tank because she wanted to get to prom on time."

His eyes gleamed, "Really? I've heard that those tanks-"

"Dad, we have to go," Annabeth cut him off. I nodded in agreement and lead her to the Cat with a wave of my hand. Annabeth took one look at the car and went "Wow."

Nico had really come through with the paint. It was a deep lapis lazuli, with flecks of metal that gave the whole car a luster that made it fantastic to look at. "It's beautiful."

I took one of her hands before opening her door and kissed her. "Almost as beautiful as you."

She smiled, "Percy, they're watching."

"Right!" I opened her door, then ran around to mine and started the car. I waved to Annabeth's dad in the doorway, and drove toward the highway. "Your dad seems ok."

Annabeth snorted. "Only because there was someone outside of me there and you have a grasp of World War I history."

"Oh." I said. My knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. She noticed.

"What're you thinking about now?"

"Rachel." I didn't want to elaborate. Annabeth picked up on that, but asked anyway. "Is she going to be there tonight?"

"We promised each other that no matter what, we'd dance at prom senior year, and I don't break my promises. I wish I did."

"You're kidding, right? You have to be kidding."

"Maybe she won't be there," I said without much enthusiasm.

"I hope so."

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet except for when the faltering radio began playing Maroon 5's 'Sugar' and I started screaming in falsetto. That made Annabeth laugh.

We got to Music Hall in quick time and met up with Jason, Piper, Nico and Will in the parking lot before we entered Corbett Tower. The three guys were wearing black tuxedoes with different colored bowties. Piper wore a deep purple strapless dress with thin white lines slanting diagonally all over. "Leo's gonna be late. Apparently whatever he's driving was a bad idea." Will began.

"And whatever he's driving will probably cost him the entry. Door's only open until 7:30" Nico finished.

"Man, you guys just have no faith in me at all, huh?" A new voice added. Leo stood next to Calypso. She wore a simple clean white cotton dress that made a great contrast to her hair and skin tone. Leo… Well…

Imagine a jean shirt, black pinstriped suit pants, red suspenders and a black bowtie that had been run over by a semi truck. He was covered in grease and engine oil and his curly hair stuck up the back.

"Dude, what hap-" Jason tried to say, but Leo shook his head. "Don't ask."

"But-" then Calypso intervened. "Seriously. Don't ask."

The ticketing process went quickly. The attendants breathalyzed us, then waved us through after many a curious look at Leo. The dance floor had only a few people, adding Jason after Piper dragged him onto the floor. The other seniors (Annabeth and I included) kind of hung around the walls, awkwardly looking out the windows and just waiting for something to happen.

It did. The something turned out to be the DJ yelling "Let's get dancing!" and milliseconds later the intro to Walk the Moon's 'Shut Up and Dance' began, and the crowd cheered. "C'mon!" and Annabeth pulled me to the dance floor. We both sang/lip synced to the song while generally acting stupid and having fun. If I stepped on her feet, she didn't show any sign of it.

We danced around for two hours before sliding down a wall in exhaustion. She leaned her head on my shoulder and we just listened to our surroundings for a full fifteen minutes.

Then the DJ announced, more quietly, "Alright boys and girls grab someone you like and dance slow to the final song."

I stood up and offered Annabeth my hand. The guitar of the song started, then the lyrics. She put her arms around my neck and I on her waist. Our bodies melted into one another, in a comfortable fashion.

 _I remember what you wore on our first day_

 _You came into my life and I thought 'Hey,_

 _You know, this could be something,'_

 _'_ _Cause everything you do and words you say,_

 _You know it all takes my breath away_

 _And now I'm left with nothing._

 _So maybe it's true, that I can't live without you,_

 _And maybe two is better than one,_

 _But there's so much time,_

 _To figure out the rest of my life_

 _And you've already got me coming undone,_

 _I'm thinkin' two, is better than one…_

I leaned in to kiss her, when the moment was cut short by a voice that I had hoped never to hear again. "Well isn't this perfect."

She wore a blood-red dress that went with her hair and lipstick and four inch clear plastic platform heels that raised her up to more than Annabeth's height. She was swaying slightly as she pushed my chest. "You owe me a dance."

Annabeth moved in front of me. God, I could have kissed her. "Leave him alone. He doesn't owe you anything."

"He promised me a dance."

"That promise was voided when you branded his skin!"

Rachel looked at Annabeth as though registering her for the first time. Again. "Perrrrcyyyyy, your blonde sssslut is getting in my way." Rachel slurred. She was drunk. Or at least tipsy.

"Don't call her that!" I barked, but Annabeth was faster to react. She backhanded Rachel with a slap that carried enough force to snap Rachel's head past her shoulders. Rachel stood for a second, swaying, then crumpled to the floor. I picked her up by an arm and dragged her to a chaperone. "Passed out drunk," I told him. "Check the fruit punch."

The last bars of the song began, repeating the first lines. I took Annabeth by the waist once more. "That was pretty awesome," I admitted.

She smiled. "Shut up and kiss me."

I did as the final line played out over the speakers, " _Two, is better than one…"_ and the crowd cheered. But I didn't care. I kept kissing her until we both ran out of air and broke the lip lock.

Annabeth smiled as we kept our foreheads touching. Most of the senior class was leaving. Our friends, however, had decided to wait. "It's about time." Leo growled jokingly. He'd cleaned up before he'd started dancing. "By the way, did anyone see Rachel passed out?"

"Yeah she was drunker than a skunk." Jason quipped.

"Nah, Annabeth knocked her out," I broke in. Nico gave her a high five while everyone else clapped. Annabeth curtsied. "The pleasure really was all mine."

We exited arm in arm, the eight of us, then split and departed to our vehicles. I didn't see what Leo drove. Though I did hear a couple of BANGs like an engine backfiring as Annabeth and I left from the nearby parking lot.


	13. Too Close to The Sun

**Thank you all so much for sticking with me on this terrible emotion rollercoaster and fluff and stuff. Thank you for making this more than a prototype.**

 **Shoutout to Minibeth for being a fantastic idea backboard and consulting with me on parts of the story!**

Chapter Thirteen: Too Close to the Sun

Annabeth

I don't know when exactly it was. Maybe it was when I first saw the sunset with him. Maybe it was the first time we kissed in front of his car, or prom. Maybe it was during one of every weekend we spent together after prom.

I sighed. I was in love with Percy. Logically, it was a terrible idea because I had known I was going to college, and there was little chance of us staying together through that time. Then Seaweed Brain had gone and walked all over my plans. Gah. And the whole 'You can't love someone until you know what love is' mantra kept running through my head, like I was a computer with emotional restraining algorithms. Wait, I think I read that in a _Halo_ book. Which Percy also got me hooked on.

I sat up. I was reading a book I'd found in my dad's study ( _The Power of One_ ) in bed but my thoughts were drifting. Obviously.

It was the last week of school, three days before it ended- the last times I would see Percy. And everyone else. Y' know. I wished there was a way I could tell him. How _do_ you tell someone you love them?

We met at the Spot. He kissed me on the hood of his jeep, and it almost broke my resolve to tell him.

"Is there any way you can skip the summer program?" Percy asked, and I was shaken out of my thoughts.

"You're not serious, are you?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well… No, not really. I just want to spend more time with you."

I leaned onto his shoulder, intertwining our hands. "We've been together for almost nine months, but it feels like so much less."

"Do you think…We'll ever see each other after college?"

"We have to, right? I mean, the universe forced us together already for this long, it's almost impossible it would just break us up without reason?

We lay there for a small eternity. Percy probably slept. I did not. I lay there, just thinking about him, thinking about me. I didn't open my eyes because I hoped it wasn't all a dream. Wow, I'm really unoriginal, aren't I? I quote songs now. Wonderful… Wait, actions are louder than words, right?

I pulled off Percy's chest, very fast.

"I know how to make this last longer."

~oOo~

I bit my lip, and Percy noticed. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

I looked at his lips. "Percy, I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

He leaned in close, and I smelled the chapstick he'd put on before he'd picked me up. "Ok. But if you want it to stop, just say something so I'll know."

"You're not the one putting needles into my skin, Seaweed Brain. I don't trust you with anything small and sharp."

"Oh shut up Wise Girl." And he led me into the tattoo parlor. Nico (he started an apprenticeship there) was in the front. Funny, for a guy obsessed with doing tattoos and everything emo, he only had one of his own. Percy said it was a compass, somewhere on his back. He greeted us with a small smile. "You ready Annabeth?" he asked quietly.

I hesitated. "Yeah. Let's do this."

Nico led us to the back room, where posters of different designs covered the walls. In the middle, there was a chair and various things to lean on, and another, more dentist-like-chair. The floor was immaculate and the tools were clean and silver.

He showed us the tattooing needle, explained how it worked. Percy cut in where needed, explaining the biology of it all. "It is possible to remove tattoos if you want to," Nico ended, "But it would be much simpler just not to have it done at all."

I nodded. "I know. I'm ready."

I took off my shirt, turned away from them, and pulled down my right bra strap to give Nico the clearest view of my shoulder blade. I sat down in a chair and leaned forward as Percy grabbed a stool and sat in front of me to keep watch on my expression, though I think he just wanted to hold my hand. The machine powered on, and Nico began to work. I winced every now and then, and gripped Percy's hand harder. Thirty minutes later, Nico finished and wiped a tiny speck of blood away. "Nice tattoo Annabeth." a voice said.

Will Solace had walked into the room and wrapped his arms around Nico from behind. "Clean and simple, I like it. Nice work Nic." And he pressed his lips to the shorter boy's cheek. "Not now Will!" Nico muttered audibly.

I pulled my bra string back into position and pulled on my shirt, making sure Percy caught a glimpse of the three black lines, forming a 60 degree triangle in the center with every side going in a different direction. Just like his scar.

~oOo~

I pulled Percy's head down and kissed him again, then pulled him into a hug. "You have to call me as soon as you get there, ok?" He mumbled into my hair.

"You know I will."

I got into my car and he leaned down to the window. "Annabeth, I never got to say it before but…"

"I love you Percy."

I looked at him and saw the sadness, happiness, love and tears all rolled into his gorgeous eyes. His mouth hung slightly open.

"I love you too."

He leaned into the car and we kissed just one more time. For the last time. We both knew darn well we'd never see each other again.

Crap. This would mess with the rest of my life. It had to.

Because I'm the dumb blonde in the stupid movie.

Because I love Percy Jackson.

 **Oh relax. There's an epilogue.**


	14. Epilogue

Eleven Years Later

Annabeth

I re-checked my seat number on the flight out of North Carolina. Window seat. Excellent. I sat down and opened an old book, _The Power of One_. I'd already read it twice, but it never seemed to bore me. Just as I found my page, the old triangular tattoo on my shoulder blade began to tingle and I heard a familiar deep voice with a hint of Southern lilt say, "Excuse me ma'am, would your name happen to be Annabeth Chase?"

My head turned and I found myself staring into those aquamarine eyes I'd fallen so hard for years previously. His skin had been deeply tanned by the sun and the smile lines were crinkling as his lips opened. "Hey Wise Girl. You look beautiful."

I was stunned. More than stunned, I was paralyzed. Nothing worked, my brain, mouth or anything. Static electricity arced as he took my designer's hand in his own well-calloused. I realized my mouth was very dry, and swallowed. Twice. "P-Percy, is it-"

He sat down next to me and his smile deepened. "It's me. I never forgot about you Annabeth."

I smiled back. "Nor I you."

Percy's expression turned thoughtful. "In fact, I don't believe I've seriously dated anyone since we broke up. Not that I haven't made a significant connection with a girl. Felicity! Our seat is up here!"

My stomach dropped. Of course, how could I have had any hope at all for Percy to still be single after almost a decade? The old ink was really tingling now, almost burning.

A short blonde head appeared next to Percy's knee. "Daddy?"

Percy picked the girl up and put her on his lap. "Felicity, I'd like you to meet Annabeth Chase. Annabeth, meet Felicity Jackson."

I stared into the angelic six-year-old's face. Her bright blue eyes spoke of intelligence and creativity, and her blonde locks were close to mine in color and fell in a tangled mess. Just like mine.

Felicity reached up and touched my hair. "You're really pretty." Then she turned to Percy and asked, "Daddy, is she Wise Girl?"

Percy laughed. "Yes she is honey. And I've always known her to live up to the name."

Felicity nodded thoughtfully. "I'm tired."

"Get some sleep." Percy placed her on the seat on his left, leaving the three of us to the row.

I looked at Felicity for a little while she closed her eyes. "She's beautiful." I murmured.

"She probably gets it from her parents." Percy replied quietly.

I felt my stomach drop a little more. "Yes, where is the Mrs. Jackson?"

Percy looked me full in the face and I felt my teenage persona begging to be released. "There isn't one."

Unbidden, my hopes started to rise again. _Stop it_. "What?"

"I adopted her while I was in Louisiana. I found her on a beach I was going to SCUBA dive off of, covered in sand and a blanket. My friends and I took care of her until we found an orphanage, but I couldn't let her go. Her eyes…." His own eyes took on a misty and faraway quality. "They reminded me of you."

The heat rushed to my face, and I looked down at my now- closed book. "Thank you."

When I looked back up he was smiling, facing forward. "I'm glad we get to see each other again. Where are you going?"

"Cincinnati. Got a garden architecture job I couldn't refuse," I said. "You?"

"Same place. I figured Felicity ought to meet her grandparents."

"Do they know about her?"

"Only by a few letters and pictures. But they're excited to see her. And I want her to meet her Uncle Leo."

"And her Aunt Calypso." I added.

His eyes widened. "They got married? When?"

I laughed at his expression. God I'd missed that smile. "Last year. Very small. Very quiet. I was in NY but Calypso wrote about it in a letter that Leo wrote for me about a house he wanted to build."

Percy's smile spread across his face. "And how is Valdez Racing Division?"

I snorted. "On Mark Nine Thousand or something. Some of his cars are racing internationally now."

"Does he still have the first one that worked- you know, the one we saw tested?"

I nodded. "He occasionally drives it to vintage car meets where he won't be as well known for fun. Oh, and Calypso drives that Impala now. She sets up an organic food stall whenever they go to a meet."

"And what about you?" I blanched, the sudden change in subject catching me off guard. "Oh, you know. Architecture and stuff. Boring."

Percy looked at me seriously. Our faces were maybe eight inches apart and my lips were pleading to be kissed by his. "Annabeth, architecture is not boring."

"Sure it is. You've said so many times. Even after you went to the Hoover Dam- yeah, I saw it on facebook- and you still thought the monumental achievement was a complete waste of-"

And then his lips were on mine and in the back of my mind I felt the plane take off, but I was pretty sure my brain was melting into the seat. Oh how I loved this moron, even after over a decade. He pulled back and looked deep into my eyes "Annabeth Chase, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me, preferably soon?"

I felt the heat in my cheeks get even hotter. "Two conditions. We have to see the sunset, and…" I looked over at Felicity's sleeping form. "She comes with us."

"Deal."

 **(Seriously, guys, thank you. If this has been half as fantastic for you as it has been for me, that makes me happy. I'm seriously considering writing a sequel. If there is a sequel, there may also be a crossover into the Arrowverse with Olicity [Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak] and possibly something related to The Flash. Suggestions are always welcome for any idea that pops into your head.)**


	15. Epilogue's Epilogue

Good evening, morning, or afternoon (depending on where you are) my readers,

In case you have not yet seen it, the sequel to Start of Something New has been posted and is (as of my writing this) on its third chapter. OF COURSE I'M LYING TO YOU it's actually on the fifth but I like having a kind of cushion in case I get into a writing block and I receive _way_ too many death threats. I plan on having a consistent post schedule at least every two weeks (hey, it's my senior year in high school. I'm lazy everywhere). Ahead of time I would like to thank my faithful Internet guide/'No-you-can't-do-that' editor/partial inspiration/idea backboard/2am freakout about stuff person Minibeth. Dudette is awesomely awesome.

Eleven years from now, 2026. Percy and Annabeth have reconnected, with Percy's adopted daughter Felicity at his side. Percy has become a man, and Annabeth... Well, she's hiding something. Percy can't find out. But Annabeth's scars are more of a tell than the lies she speaks to keep her friends safe. The truth will come crashing down like the guillotine of time.

Ladies and Gentlemen and everything in between, I give you:

Soak Up the Sun

(and just in case that doesn't work: s/11425598/1/Soak-Up-the-Sun)


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